Gentilly Terrace students learn the importance of saving

Students at Gentilly Terrace-UNO Charter School lined the hallway in a roped-off area, quietly murmuring among themselves with money in hand, waiting patiently for their turn at the teller.

"Welcome to KidzBank!" said sixth-grader Ryshad Jasmine, greeter for the day, whose job is to welcome more than 125 Gentilly Terrace first- to fifth-grade students waiting to deposit money into savings accounts in a working bank operated by the students.

Chris Granger, The Times-Picayune Just like their parents, these students stand in line at their bank. But in this case, the bank comes to them.

"You get to explain what KidzBank is, but they have a lot of questions," Ryshad said.

Gentilly Terrace partnered with Capital One Bank to establish the
branch of KidzBank, an interactive program that teaches students
financial literacy and the importance of saving. KidzBank is a
nationwide program; Gentilly Terrace is the first in New Orleans to
obtain a site license.

India Horn, a seventh-grade student, and Tremaine Joshua, an eighth-grader, are KidzBank tellers.

"We do the same thing they actually do in the bank," India said. "We greet them, ask them what's their name, (take) their money and their deposit slips."

"We put in their name and click on it, put in the amount of money that day and give them their receipt," Tremaine said.

Just like in the real world, students from sixth to eighth grade
were given the opportunity to apply for one of six positions of teller
or greeter by completing an application form, interviewing with
teachers and a Capital One representative and submitting a one-page essay on why they wanted to become a banker.

Ryshad, India and Tremaine, along with seventh-grader Coresha Scott and eighth-graders Scotiana Woullard and Destiny Hill, were the six successful candidates.

Chris Granger, The Times-PicayuneEighth-grader, Destiny Hill, a 'bank' teller, takes a dime from Michael Baquet, a fourth-grader, as he makes a deposit in the KidzBank.

Vera Triplett, chief operations officer for Capital One-UNO Charter School network and one of the key promoters behind getting KidzBank into Gentilly Terrace, believes KidzBank teaches students how to save but also cultivates responsibility among the students working in the bank.

"These kids know they are the bank tellers. They know that the bank is open every Friday. They know it is important for them to be here. It is important for them to be professional," Triplett said.

Violet Youngblood, assistant branch manager and assistant vice
president for Capital One Lakefront Branch, brought the six successful
candidates into her branch to teach them firsthand what it is like to
be a banker in the real world.

"We talked about good customer service skills, providing one
exceptional experience for our customers, as well as the importance of privacy," Youngblood said.

Sitting behind laptops in the hallway depositing each student's
money, the tellers demonstrate exactly what they learned at the bank.

"We learned how you cant lose the money, how (to put the) correct amount of money in, how you always have to greet the customer and you also have to show respect," India said.

"And if they come in rude, then you are to be polite with them," Tremaine said.

Stacy Clayton, a fourth-grade math teacher at Gentilly Terrace,
oversees the KidzBank. She said the program, introduced this year, has been hugely successful.

"We have at least 230 first- through fifth-graders," she said, and "at least 125 every week (are) making good deposits."

The minimum amount to open a KidzBank account is 50 cents. After
that, students can deposit any amount upward of 10 cents. The average
deposit is 75 cents.

No interest is earned on the savings accounts, but the children are learning about the concept of interest in the financial literacy curriculum.

The bank is open only on Friday, so it is common for students to ask school administrators during the week to hold on to their money so they are not tempted to spend it.

"The biggest thing we are trying to do is encourage them to learn how to save early on and with consistency," Clayton said.

The students must wait until the end of fifth grade to make
withdrawals, and then will need a parent's permission to take money out.

The KidzBank thermometer posted on the wall behind the tellers has reached the $200 mark, showing the students'; combined savings. Already, some of the students are thinking ahead.

"If they don't save, then they are going to keep spending it on junk and candy, but one day they are going to need something for school," Scotiana said.